


Moonlight and Jasmine

by RS317



Category: Victoria (TV)
Genre: Erotica, F/M, Lord M in Disarray, Lord Melbourne's Angst, The Dismount
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-09-19
Packaged: 2018-12-07 04:04:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11615493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RS317/pseuds/RS317
Summary: Victoria and her beloved Lord M.  Inner turmoil (his).  Determination (hers).  Totally AU.  Smutty, humorous, a little angsty.  Beethoven and jasmine.





	1. Her Majesty's Whim

**Author's Note:**

> My first attempt at fan fiction in 25 years. I'm still working on proper continuity from the book and the series so please forgive if my chronology is off. I love these Vicbourne characters passionately!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 or 3 (not sure which yet) will have a flashback to the "bite" and "again" referred to in this Chapter 1.
> 
> Sorry for the confusion!

"Lord M...", her voice floated across the table to where he was seated, brows furrowed as he read a missive regarding actions in Afghanistan.

"Yes, ma'am?" he replied absently.

“I find the flower houses at Buckingham Palace to be lacking”.

Flowers? That got his attention. He put down the papers he was reading and made his way towards the Queen who stood looking out into the palace gardens from the large window in her study.

“I should like for you to oversee the renovation of my flower houses.”

“I see,” he replied, smiling to himself at his Majesty's whimsical thoughts.

“Excellent. It is settled then,” she said happily.

He coughed. “I beg your pardon, Ma’am. What is settled?”

“You overseeing the renovations of the palace flower houses!”

“Ma’am, that would be an enormous undertaking. With respect, ma'am, I am your prime minister and your private secretary. With the legislature we are trying to pass, I simply do not have the time for such a project.”

“Then you must make time. I want you to cultivate a flower called jasmin sambac. I read a legend about it and I am intrigued.”, she smiled brightly.

He blinked. She could not be serious. He knew of jasmin sambac and had indeed smelled its sweet aroma. It was grown in the tropics. Not in England.

“I would have to live at the palace, ma'am, to accomplish such a thing,” he said dryly.

She turned away, hiding her smile. She knew her beloved prime minister well. She knew that that would be the conclusion he would come to!

She turned back to him, her face set in a serious way. Her cornflower blue eyes were twinkling. He looked at her suspiciously.

“Splendid idea, Lord M! I will have Lehzen prepare the other set of rooms in the North wing for you."

That was near to the Queen’s bedchamber. Too near. Improperly near. “That is out of the question, ma'am!”

She turned her back, barely able to contain her laughter. Her ever so proper prime minister. If she hadn't felt how his heart had beat so rapidly under her hands or felt his desire press against her whenever they danced together, she would think it was simply Melbourne being Melbourne. Of course, she would never have known that these were signs of a man's desire had she not hounded Emma and Harriet for information. She had carefully interrogated them, letting her ladies-in-waiting believe that the Russian duke had exhibited such desires when it had actually been her dear prime minister. She flushed at the memory.

Clearing her throat delicately, she turned back to face Melbourne.

“You are always too quick to see impropriety. But very well. There are the rooms behind mine”, she started. When she saw him open his mouth to protest, she put a hand up.  
“Lord M, you need not worry. There is a very long hallway that one must travel around to get to that suite. No one will question your placement there. It is far enough away from me."

Melbourne sighed. “Ma’am. The jasmin sambac is a tropical flower grown in India and the Philippine Islands. England does not have the proper climate for its successful cultivation”.

She smiled. “You grow orchids at Brocket Hall, do you not, my lord?”

He raised his hands by his sides, mouth open. Emma. Dear Emma. He was going to kill her.

“You taught me to do my research carefully, Lord M, and I have. I know that you have the capability to renovate the palace flower houses to accommodate the growth of jasmin sambac. Will you really deny me this wish?”

He sighed in defeat. “No, ma’am. I will not deny you this wish but I must insist on staying at Dover House.”

“That is not an option, Lord M. I need you clear-headed and refreshed every morning. If you are attending to me, Parliament,and the flower houses, how would ever attend to yourself? No. I have decided as your Monarch. You will be staying at Buckingham Palace beginning tomorrow morning. I think it would be ideal for you to leave now to ready for your temporary move.”

As he stared at the queen, he could not help but think to himself how impossible it was for him to be clear-headed around her - especially when she was asking, no - ordering him to move into the palace just steps away from her bedchamber. 

The sound of a slight groan from Victoria brought him out of his reverie.

She had made the sound as she licked the juice of a mandarin orange from her lips. As he stared at Victoria's mouth, the tip of her delicate tongue darted out to lick the juice from her lips. He turned away to control himself. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and what? Lick the queen? He shook his head as if to clear it.

He tried again. “Your majesty, I do not believe that moving me into the palace is a wise decision. The gossips will surely use this against you and create a scandal."

She looked at him, clearly exasperated, “But you said you would have to live here at the palace in order to renovate my flower houses, Lord M, so I am making that possible. Now, as we have finished with the boxes, you may leave and and pack for your move. I'll expect you tomorrow morning. Your rooms will be ready."

“Ma'am, I was employing sarcasm. This is insanity.” He turned away, agitated and frustrated that his senses failed him. Surely he could manage an excuse to avoid this reckless plan. Or did he want to?

"Are you afraid I might bite you again, my dear Lord M?" she whispered huskily into his ear. He shivered. She had quietly made her way to his back, reached out a hand to his shoulder and tiptoed to better reach his ear. They were so close together, the heat of their bodies threatening to ignite something he knew would consume them. He clenched both his jaw and his hands which were itching to touch her. Again. Had it only been four days?

"M'am!" he growled quietly.

"Lord M?" she replied breathlessly.

“Bite me again and I shall spank you," he said huskily, his sharp cheekbone grazing the mouth that had been so close to his ear.

She felt heat rise from her core, up to her breasts and to her face. Melbourne saw her sudden flush and the outline of aroused nipples at her bodice.

The only sound in the room was their combined breathing. Shallow. Wanting. Forbidden.

He shook his head. "I must return to Dover House."

"You will be here tomorrow...with your belongings, my Lord?"

He looked at her with his intent green gaze. He did not reply.

~~~~~~~~>

“Moving into Buckingham Palace? Are you daft, William?” Emma Portmann asked incredulously.

“I believe I am,” Lord Melbourne muttered as he threw things towards his valet to be packed. “She all but ordered me.”

He stopped as he heard Emma laugh.

“Ordered? William! Can you not stand up to the Queen? You know she would not banish you from the kingdom if you refused this!”

“Don’t be dramatic, Emma. Even this queen knows she cannot banish people for refusing one of her whims. Besides, it is your fault. Yours and Harriet's for filling her head with romantic notions!" Emma checked then suddenly turned serious.

“She loves you, you know,” Emma stated softly.

“Does she? She is too young to know what love is,” he countered.

“She sent Albert away. She held her ground with the Privy Council. With her mother. She will marry the man she loves. She’s waiting for you to realize that you love her as well."

“I do not love the Queen!” Melbourne shouted. “I am devoted to her! I would sacrifice my life for her and will perform all services of a dutiful servant. But she cannot love me. She must keep her heart intact for someone else. She knows this.”

Emma raised a finely arched eyebrow. She saw the tick at the corner of his mouth that always flickered when he was impassioned.

She squeezed his arm as she walked by. “You’ll have to admit your love for her sooner or later, William. The queen will not have it any other way. The sooner you realize this the better for the both of you. If you keep letting her chase you, she will soon fall into trouble that even you might not be able to rescue her from.”

Emma left her friend brooding. Melbourne worried that this new plan of the Queen’s would land them both in conflict with the Privy Council and subject her to the ire of the Duchess of Kent and her assortment of royal uncles. She had no idea the fire that she would encounter with Melbourne at such close and constant quarters. And yet, he found himself unwilling to put a decisive stop to this plan of hers.

~~~~~~~~>

Victoria watched as Melbourne dismounted from his horse. She loved watching him dismount. He achieved it with one fluid motion, arcing his fine leg over his mount's head, hitting the ground with both feet and moving into a graceful walk. The first time she’d seen him dismount, she had gone weak at the knees. Now, it was her guilty pleasure - to watch him from her window arrive and watch The Dismount (as she cleverly called it).

His carriage soon arrived and she saw Melbourne disappear. She saw him moments later as he knelt before her and kissed her hand. His warm lips never lingered over long but oh, today they did. Her eyes glazed over as she thought back to a few days ago when she had unashamedly straddled him. She blushed at the memory.

“Ma’am? Ma’am? Ma’am! Are you quite alright?”

She stared at him, “Yes. My apologies. I was thinking of stallions."


	2. Incognito

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little smut as Lord M remembers Victoria's incognito visits. 
> 
> *******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's harder to write around a little segment than I thought. I hope this chapter is not too confusing. Basically, this is Melbourne's angsty chapter as he remembers the 3 incognito visits Victoria has paid in recent days (I took the liberty of adding a 3rd incognito visit).
> 
> Chapter 3 will return to "the present" as Lord M moves into Buckingham Palace, quite unaware that Victoria has plans for more than just the renovation of the flower houses.

“Stallions. I see.” He didn’t but there was much to do so he quickly walked the Queen through the day’s business and then excused himself to return to Dover House. At her protest, he told her he’d forgotten important items he would need for the renovation. She continued to protest, insisting that they could send staff back to retrieve what he’d forgotten but Melbourne was insistent. He promised he would be back before nightfall. 

Hours later, Melbourne sat at his desk in deep thought while nursing his 3rd or was it his 4th brandy? Whichever it was it had to be his last. He had to get back to the Palace before the Queen decided to make yet another incognito visit.

He could not help but picture the lovely countenance of the young Queen who deeply moved and vexed him. Was she really in love with him as Emma insisted? He heaved a sigh. Yes. Of course she was. He was too old to not see the obvious signs and she had said as much at her last incognito visit.

But he could not let happen again what happened at the 3rd incognito visit. He had been caught unawares and for the well-being of the Queen, must be prepared for whatever she threw his way. He'd almost lost control. He snorted. He HAD lost control. His hands and his mouth should not have been anywhere near Victoria like that. He stroked his brow, remembering and wondering how Victoria had known to weaken his defenses. He laughed to himself. Less brandy for starters.

His mind drifted to the first time she'd appeared after he'd told her he could no longer serve as her prime minister. He'd not been expecting visitors he'd told her to excuse his disarray. She'd replied, "Evidently" with a slight smile.

He'd felt vulnerable looking so disheveled. He was not displaying his usual calm, level-headed and stately character. She had not been off-put by his appearance, though. In her eyes he'd seen curiosity. Her gaze had drifted from his face, to his exposed neck and down lower. He was startled by her perusal but then she had lifted her eyes to his and there, he'd seen it. Desire...not for Melbourne, the Prime Minister but for Melbourne, the man. The realization had scared him to death. It was his duty to serve and protect the Queen. Not ravish her. 

Then she had gone to Brocket Hall to declare herself to him. She had been so brave to bare her heart to him and he did nothing but break both theirs. Remembering gave him physical pain. He'd implied that like a rook, he mated for life. She had believed that he pined still for his dead wife. But in truth, he knew that Victoria would be his last love. Victoria could not and would not ever know this. He saw the bright light in her blue eyes dim and as she turned and walked away from him, he thought he might just die. His beloved, precious queen would belong to another man.

He had sat back down at the base of the statue where she'd found him, looked down at his trembling hands and let the tears fall one by one until his shoulder shook with the enormity of what he'd lost. Melbourne looked up to the rooks and let out a bellow of agony. Why? What had he done so wrong in his life that he was punished at every turn? The rooks had no answers for him.

Then he'd arrived at Lady Richmond's ball dressed as Leicester to her Elizabeth. He saw that she wore his orchids and for a moment, he felt a ridiculous hope. He only had to look up and see the glares from the Duchess of Kent, John Conroy and King Leopold to remember his duty to the Crown. He danced with his queen and spoke of their mutual inclinations but like Elizabeth and Leicester, they could not marry. Her face had been unreadable but he had hoped that she understood that he was saving her from recriminations from her mother, her uncles, her government and her subjects. He also hoped that she knew that it was because of his undying love and devotion for her that he had sacrificed his future happiness to ensure hers with another. Albert, surely, Melbourne thought bitterly. He had left her side that night in absolute sorrow, his heart cracked in a million pieces like shards of glass. 

He'd drowned his sorrows back at Dover House with brandy desperate to erase Victoria’s image from his mind but he couldn’t and finally fallen into a drunken sleep.

At mid morning, he felt his shoulder being gently nudged. He swatted the hand away. Again, he felt the nudge. It had been less gentle. He groaned in annoyance. This time, he was shoved from his uncomfortable position on the settee and found himself unceremoniously dumped onto the floor. 

He opened his bleary eyes and saw a set of daintily shod feet peeking out from beneath dark green silk. Melbourne groaned knowing all too well who was attached to the dainty feet. He was afraid to look up so he closed his eyes, praying he would not empty his stomach onto her Majesty's pretty shoes.

"Lord M?" she had called out a little too loudly for his liking. He did not respond.

She repeated her nickname for him. He kept silent.

"Lord Melbourne?" 

"WILLIAM!" 

He opened one eye. "I am ill, ma'am. And you must leave."

"If you are ill, then I will nurse you," she declared.

"Not that ill, ma'am." He turned over onto his back and heard her sudden intake of breath. Too late he realized his shirt was unbuttoned to his waist and that he was in a semi state of arousal. He'd been dreaming of her milky skin bared to his touch. Given his rather generous endowment, even semi-erect, his member was evident and twitched under Victoria's eager and curious gaze. She was so innocent and it unnerved him. He shifted away from her gaze and slowly stood up. Gingerly. He was getting too old to fall asleep on the short settee. He was getting too old to drink as he did. And her Majesty’s incognito visits were too frequent.

She had removed her cape, bonnet and gloves and stood before him wearing a simple gown which matched the color of his eyes.

"Ma'am, please. You must leave. You cannot be discovered missing from the palace".

"You worry too much, my lord. I have taken care of everything. No one will be looking for me until tomorrow morning. I have a terrible headache, you see," she said cheerfully.

"Emma, Harriet and Skerritt know of your whereabouts?"

"Yes. Incognito, of course!"

Of course. Then he grimaced as a knock sounded at the doors to the library.

"That would be coffee for you, Lord M," Victoria announced. "I took the liberty of asking after your needs."

Indeed, to Melbourne's shock, a tray of coffee and biscuits was followed by a small tub of water, towels, fresh clothes and his toiletries. His staff hurriedly exited the room. Hands on his hips, he turned to Victoria.

"Ma'am, it would seem that my entire staff know you are here,” he stated.

"Naturally, my lord. They said you were not well and I asked them to prepare whatever I would need to care for you and this is what they brought,” Victoria replied as she swept her arms around to highlight what his staff had brought in. "I offered them coin to keep our secret."

"Our secret? You bribed my servants?"

"No, how ludicrous. I offered them coin to - "

"Yes, yes...I know," he said impatiently. "You offered coin for their silence. That is bribery ma'am."

"Perhaps. But they refused payment. They told me they adored me and wished me luck with you. They were delightful!" She smiled.

He felt the corner of his mouth twitching. His staff was loyal to him. This he knew with certainty - there would be no leaks from his staff. Still. The queen being here while he was less than presentable was scandalous. 

"Albert would not approve."

She snorted. "Cousin Albert is of no consequence. I’ve sent him back.”

Melbourne raised his brow. "He was at the Palace?”

"I am not here to discuss Cousin Albert. I came here for you, Lord M," she said wistfully.

He swallowed. He sat forgetting that he had taken his seat while the queen still stood. “Ma’am, we have been through this. Like a rook -” he began.

“-you mate for life,” she finished for him. 

“I’ve thought about what you said to me at Brocket Hall and I do not believe that you do not hold me with some affection. Neigh. You sent me orchids after rejecting me. I believe that you feel for me as I feel for you. Can you look at me in the face and deny this, my lord?”

“No, I cannot entirely”, he answered truthfully. “But, it cannot be. I have tried to explain this to you!”

He winced. He had a roaring throb in his head. "My head aches," he muttered.

She approached him. "I told you I was going to take care of you since you are not feeling well."

He sat in silence. Soon, she stood before him, too close. He felt himself stirring again. Her small fingers reached out to gently massage him at his temples. He felt himself relaxing and the pain inside his head subsiding. He knew he should stop her.

"Lord M, your shirt is soiled. May I help you remove it?" she asked with more confidence than she felt.

His eyes shot open and his headache was back. Melbourne tried to back away but too late realized he'd sat in a chair against a wall.

"Ma'am...Do you not see how inappropriate this is? The Queen disrobing her prime minister is unseemly! Surely even you recognize what folly this is!"

"Lord M, do you remember when I came to you at Brocket Hall? I told you that I came to you not as a queen but as a woman. I told you that I desired you - not as my prime minister but as a man."

"Yes, I remember," he choked out. Their knees touched.

"Lord M, you are aroused," she smiled sweetly, her confidence growing as she saw the bulge forming between his clad thighs.

He swallowed. "Ma'am! What would you know of arousal?"

"Emma and Harriet explained some of it to me. I desire you and you desire me. I have felt your desire as we have danced together. You make me flush with heat over my entire being. No other man has made me feel this way."

"I should hope not", he thought indignantly. He opened his mouth. No sound came out. He closed it. And then, she inched closer, the scent of orange blossoms intoxicating and making him light headed. His heavy-lidded eyes started to close and then suddenly, she was there. In his lap, her legs straddling his strong thighs. His shocked caused him to buck back in his chair which sent his member up against Victoria's core. His sudden movement made it necessary for her to grab his shoulders and their momentum sent her face into his neck.

She breathed deeply and then whispered into his ear -

"I want to bite you, Lord M."

He involuntarily bucked again, feeling her heat against his member that was straining to be released from his breeches. Melbourne grabbed her tiny hips, fighting to stay still as she instinctively moved against him.

"Victoria," he breathed. 

“Yes, my lord?” she panted against his neck as she rocked against him lost in the sensations that were engulfing her.

“Victoria,” he began as her hands disappeared inside his open shirt, fingers lightly running up and down his sides. He could not think.

“My lord,” she said again. She was lost, her mouth against the side of his throat, feeling the corded muscle of his neck. She flicked out her tongue and felt him shudder. His reaction emboldened her and just as she had said she wanted to do, she bit him. Gently. He moaned. Suddenly, his lips found hers and for the first time, they kissed.  
He knew that no man had ever kissed Victoria the way lovers do and yet, she responded so easily to him. She was made for him. Open mouthed, their tongues danced together. Their chests rubbed against each other until Victoria’s left breast came undone from her bodice, her nipple grazing his chest. Without hesitation, he tore his mouth from Victoria’s and bent down to latch onto the hardened bud. She moaned his name as her hips moved forward, begging for closer contact. He rolled the nipple with his tongue while her fingers, tangled in his hair, tugged painfully at his scalp. She moaned, begging for more. 

In the back of his mind, a small voice was telling him to stop. But he found he could not and freed her other breast. He squeezed them together, burying his face in the valley between. He hungrily moved from one to the other, alternating between sucking her with his mouth while rolling the other nipple between his thumb and forefinger.  
Her breathing was coming out in gasps as she gave her breasts up to Melbourne’s expert touches. As she threw back her head in abandon, she felt the start of a sensation that was familiar but so much more intense. It was not unlike those moments when she had accidentally touched herself in a certain place between her legs. She pushed against his body, the chair banging against the wall in time with her breathy gasps.

Her eyes opened to see Melbourne look up from her breasts. She was going to come undone...just from his mouth and fingers on her breasts. As she looked into his soulful eyes, it began. 

“Lord M? Lord M? I feel, I feel...what is happening to me? I, I -" she could not continue.

Melbourne's voice soothed her, "You are coming, it is natural Victoria. Let it take you." Once again, he bent his head and sucked on her left nipple.

"WILLIAM!” she screamed his name over and over as she found release, trembling and drenched between her thighs.

Melbourne was struggling to control himself, burying his face into Victoria’s neck as he breathed heavily, not believing that the wetness of her desire had seeped through her skirts to his breeches. Her panting began to slow. He had almost lost his seed hearing the keening sound of Victoria screaming his name as she came. His nostrils flared as he sat back, stroking Victoria’s head that lay on his shoulder. 

"Are you all right, my lord? Your headache gone?" she asked gently.

The headache had been replaced by something else but she did not need to know that. He assured her that he was fine.

“I love you, William,” she whispered.

“I know,” he replied softly, knowing that was the only answer he could give his Monarch.

He did not see the single tear that rolled down her cheek. Her Lord M did not love her after all.


	3. A Secret Passage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victoria remembers her ride while Skerritt discovers a secret passage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Victoria's memories of her ride were a last minute addition but worth the telling, I think.
> 
> I love all the encouraging comments! Thank you so much!

"Drina! I must speak with you!"

Her mother's voice broke through the strains of the Moonlight Sonata's 1st movement that she had until that moment been playing peacefully.

She stopped suddenly and clattered her elbows onto the ivory keys of her piano, chin propped in her hand. She knew what was coming and she had to brace herself.

"Drina!" her mother admonished. "Do not abuse your piano like that. And sit up straight!"

She did.

"Yes, Mama?" she asked sweetly.

"Lehzen told me that you have ordered Melbourne to move into the apartments behind yours. Have you lost your mind?"

"No, Mama. I have not lost my mind. Lord Melbourne must move into the apartments so that he can supervise the renovations of the palace glass houses...the flower houses."

"Why do they need renovation? And why would your Prime Minister know anything of flowers?

"He is a gentleman of many talents, Mama," she said airily. "I want to grow jasmin sambac - a tropical flower. The Prime Minister is actually quite gifted in this area. He grows exotics in his own glass houses at Brocket Hall and he is known to be able to cultivate such exotics better than anyone in England."

"Then he can grow them at his own glass house, Drina," the duchess of Kent said with some annoyance.

"No. It would be inconvenient for everyone. I want jasmin sambac grown here and he has agreed. It is final, Mama."

The Duchess was not about to give up. "What will everyone say? You have not thought this through. You will have another scandal upon you! And this time with Lord Melbourne!" 

Victoria banged her hands on the piano keys. "Mama! That is enough! It is my wish as queen to have the glass houses renovated under the expertise of Lord Melbourne. Nothing improper will occur. I know you will see to it. Now, if you will excuse me, Lord Melbourne will be arriving and we have much work to accomplish. I will not see you until dinner." And with that, Victoria went to her study to watch for The Dismount.

~~~~~~~~>

Victoria was feeling vexed. It had been several hours since her Prime Minister had left. The skies above London were darkening and still there was no sign of him.

Perhaps he had changed his mind. Melbourne, whatever his disreputable reputation, had always been so prudish around her. Until the morning 5 days ago when she had straddled him, that is. Clearly she had taken advantage of him in his weakened state. But never in her wildest imaginings would she have thought Lord M would kiss her so passionately on her lips and on her breasts. 

She blushed as she recalled the details of that encounter. She'd been so wanton. Lord M had made her feel so alive - more alive than she'd ever thought imaginable. Even now, sitting on the window bench waiting for him, she felt her nipples tighten as she thought of him doing again what he done to her. She had never realized her breasts could be so sensitive and connected to between her legs. His hands, his tongue, his lips and the way he sucked at her nipples while squeezing her breasts had bewildered her. She had looked down when he was rolling one nipple and was shocked to see how far it stood out from her breast and how broad it had become. It had made the sensation between her legs even more intense and had made her want more of something. But she knew not what it was she needed. She had ground herself against him, wanting more. Her body had fought against the hands on her hips as he had tried to hold her still. The muscles in her hips and legs and even her feet had strained as she ground herself to him. She remembered the bulge in his breeches getting hotter and harder with her movements but he refused to release himself to her. Each time she attempted to reach for him, he removed her hands. It had been frustrating but then his tongue would begin flicking at a nipple again and she thought she might lose her mind. 

Victoria braced her back against the window seat and reached between her legs. She was wet from remembering. She slid three fingers up her mons and wondered if Lord M would ever touch her there. She hoped so. She would ask him.

But it was late and she was tired. She stifled a yawn, intending to close her eyes for just a moment.

~~~~~~~~>

It was one o'clock in the morning, when she heard a rustle from her wardrobe room. Skerritt emerged and quietly announced that her Prime Minister had arrived.

Victoria jumped off the window seat and started towards the door when she decided to get Dash. She ran back to the window. Seconds later she ran to her dressing table to get a robe. She decided she didn't need it and ran to the bed to leave it there. She turned around and ran into Skerritt. She was running around in circles. 

"Ma'am, is anything the matter?" 

"Oh, Skerritt. I cannot think straight. I long to see Lord Melbourne but there are footman throughout the halls. I cannot wait until morning!"

Skerritt knew her Queen's dilemma and hesitantly asked, "If there was a passageway that no one traveled would you want to know?"

Victoria looked at her inquiringly. "You mean a secret passageway from my rooms to the apartment behind mine?"

Skerritt nodded. "I found them quite by accident when I went to inspect Lord Melbourne's rooms as you asked. The doors are in your wardrobe rooms...behind the large mirrors. Would you like me to show you?"

Victoria had already made her way into the wardrobe room where she stood staring at her reflection. She saw a young, wide-eyed woman wearing a thin fine cotton sleeveless sleeping gown. Her hair was near to her waist in gentle waves. The idea of her going to see her Prime Minister dressed in this way was scandalous but the thought excited her. She saw that her nipples stood out against the cotton and the outline of the V at the juncture of her legs was visible. Skerritt told her that it was the light behind her that caused her gown to be see-through.

"Is there a key?" Victoria asked. Skerritt produced two keys and laid them in Victoria's outstretched hand. She showed the queen the hidden latch behind the mirror.

"How could anyone ever detect this?" Victoria asked in amazement. 

"I do not believe anyone has in our time," Skerritt surmised. "But, I oiled the hinges and checked the passageway. It is quite small. You will need the key each time you enter and exit. And Ma'am?"

Victoria turned back to Skerritt. "Yes?"

"None of the rooms in Lord Melbourne's wing are being used and the guards are outside the large doors far from his rooms. I think you could have lively conversations if you liked."

Victoria looked surprised at first and then she laughed behind her hand. The thought of Lord M being loud under any circumstances was unthinkable. Or was it?

" I will keep that thought in my mind, dear Skerritt." She handed Dash to her co-conspirator then set out with the lantern Skerritt had thought to bring.

"I will stay in your rooms, Ma'am, until you return."

Victoria turned to Skerritt and gave her an impulsive hug. Skerritt beamed as she watched her queen disappear into the passageway. She wished she could see Lord Melbourne's surprised face.


	4. Mirror, Mirror...what do you see?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord M releases his frustrations in private, or so he thinks.

Victoria quickly made her way to the door on the other side of the passageway and slipped the key into the lock. It turned easily and then she pushed. Nothing happened. She tried again. Still nothing. She frowned at the door. She hadn't thought about how heavy it might be. But nothing was going to stop her from getting to her Prime Minister. She turned and placed her shoulder against the dark wood and pushed mightily. It gave! With her face scrunched up with the effort, she finally managed to open the door wide enough to slip in. It was dark except for the light she carried. She walked the short distance to the opposite door, blew out the candle in her lantern and drew a calming breath.

The room was lit with a few candles, giving the room a warm glow. He was standing unclothed at a porcelain basin, staring at himself in the mirror before him wondering why he had agreed to this plan.

"You want to be with her," his conscience told him. He knew that. He wanted to be one with Victoria, the girl, the woman who had his heart. But how?

He saw her face. And he saw the outline of her body behind the prim fine cotton of her sleeping gown. Her nipples...those sweet sensitive delicious nipples called to him. His shaft began to stir. He reached down and stroked himself and watching his rod lengthen. How he wanted to bury himself in the woman he most desired. He squeezed and his breathing was hoarse. The image that was Victoria in his mind reached up and pinched her nipples. He threw back his head, groaning as his hand moved faster over himself, pumping and squeezing, imagining Victoria's tiny hand around him. He felt his velvety shaft become hot with the friction of his hand. His eyes were unfocused and in his mind he smelled the musky scent of a woman's sex. As he stood there in a state of arousal, he mused that he could imagine the scent of Victoria. His buttocks tightened as he came closer to his release. His image of Victoria undid the laces of her gown and heavy breasts with tight, turgid nipples fell out. She squeezed her own nipples. That was enough for Melbourne's seed to violently explode as he hoarsely called out her name. As he squeezed out every last drop, he saw the image drop to her knees and whisper his name.

~~~~~~~~>

She felt as if she should leave but she was rooted to the spot where she stood. She could not look away, mesmerized by her Lord M touching himself so intimately and watching his root grow to enormous proportions. It was no wonder that the bulge in his breeches had felt so large the other morning. With every one of his strokes she saw him grow wider and longer. She wondered how long. As if reading her mind, he pressed his staff to his stomach and stroked up its underside. It reached past his navel. She gushed wetness as she saw this and she suppressed a moan. She could not help it. She touched her breasts. Their eyes met in the mirror and he quickened the rhythm with which he pumped himself. She undid the laces of her night dress and released her breasts. She pinched her nipples. Hard. He let out a gutteral cry and she saw a magnificent spurt of himself fly towards the mirror. His beautiful green eyes were unfocused, his jaw tight as he pumped his staff and continued to release himself... calling her name, Victoria, over and over.

She fell onto her knees. Weak. Spent. She called out to him.


	5. The Queen's Pleasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No explanation needed.

He blinked hard once. Twice. Shook his head to clear it. He looked back in the mirror and saw her. On her knees, looking at him. He turned slowly and realized that the image of Victoria in the mirror had not been a vivid imagining. Victoria was here. Now. She had watched him -

"Lord M... please. I need you".

He ran to her and before he thought better of it, sank to his knees in front of her.

"You should not be here," he admonished her.

"I waited all day for you. I was afraid that you had changed your mind. Then Skerritt told me you were here and I had to come to you."

"Ma'am...it is dangerous for you to be here. I have told you often enough now -"

She interrupted him by placing a finger to his lips. "Skerritt found a way for us. There is a secret passageway. No one would know I am here with you."

"Ma'am, I do not understand how you have no fear of being discovered."

She answered him plainly. "I have no fear as long as you are by my side!"

"Your Majesty!" he exclaimed while riding to his feet and forgetting his nakedness. "It is foolish not to have fear. You could lose your crown!"

"Would I be able to have you then? If I were to lose my crown?" she asked wistfully.

He stared at her. "I cannot entertain such a thing. Come. You must stand up. You cannot kneel at my feet."

Victoria looked up and saw his flaccid member laying against his thigh. She reached out.

"I want to taste you, Lord M," smiling as she saw his staff begin to rise.

"No," he said forcefully. "We must talk".

He left her kneeling there and returned a few moments later wearing a robe, cinched around the waist.

"Come, you must sit."

He led her to the sitting area of his room and and sat across from her. He took her hands and looked into her eager eyes. "We must agree that we cannot meet like this."

He saw sudden fire light in her eyes. "I am sorry, Lord M. I cannot agree to that. I saw tonight that you desire me even when I am not in your midst. I thought of you while I was alone in my bed chamber and I gushed wet between my legs and felt my nipples rise. My need for you is great."

Melbourne dragged his hand down his face and gave a shaky laugh.

"Be that as it may, we cannot simply give into our desires!"

"Why not?". Victoria asked hotly. She was becoming agitated. "You sit there acting as if you are on some moral high ground, protecting my virtue. I do not need that kind of protection! I NEED YOU! You have awakened a fire in me, do you not see? I saw tonight that you burn for me as well. You called my name over and over again as if you were in agony. If you do not love me, can you at least want me?"

Melbourne cracked under the weight of her glassy blue gaze.

Grabbing her by the upper arms, he stood her up and took her lips with his, ravaging her mouth. Kissing a path from her lips down to her neck and back, he asked what she wanted.

"I want you to touch me," she gasped as he sucked the delicate skin at her throat.

"Where? Show me."

She took his right hand, dragging it slowly down her body to stop between her legs.

He bunched up the hem of her sleeping gown and raised it to her waist.

"Show me," he asked again.

She took his hand and tentatively placed his fingers upon her folds. She was so wet that his three middle fingers slid in between the slick lips between her legs. She gasped and started to lose her balance.

He lifted her and carried her to the side of the bed, his fingers never leaving its perch. 

"Tell me what else you want," he whispered.

"I do not know," she cried in frustration. "I do not know what comes next. Only that I need more."

It was good that Melbourne had satisfied himself just moments ago so that he could concentrate soley on Victoria.

He gently opened the wet folds that were warm and slippery and inserted 2 fingers while his thumb searched for her hidden nub. It did not take long for him to tease it into a hard bud while his 2 other fingers slowly and surely moved in and out of her in a steady rhythm. 

Victoria's breath was coming out in high-pitched gasps. He moved to her side and with his other hand, freed her breasts. He leaned over and lapped at one and then the other while his other hand worked magic on her engorged folds. 

He inserted a 3rd finger and she screamed in ecstacy. Her response excited him and he found himself repositioning himself in front of her legs and splaying her wide open. He saw her sex glistening and saw the bud of her desire responding to his touch. 

"Touch your breasts, Victoria, please...I want to see you squeeze your nipples," he said.

She did what he asked and the combination of what their fingers were doing to her body caused her hips to rise off the bed violently almost causing Melbourne to lose his grip.

Her head was thrashing from side to side as Melbourne brought her closer to the precipice. 

He leaned over her, his hand all but inside her, moving in and out and he said against her neck, "I want to hear you scream my name, Victoria. Come for me. NOW. Yell. My. Name."

"I'm coming, my Lord! Don't stop! Faster! Oh! OH! WILLIAM!" she panted as her hips moved faster against his hand. She repeated each word again like a litany as he brought her closer to release.

"Now, Victoria! LOUDER! I want the whole palace to hear!" Melbourne growled.

"LORD Mmmmmm!"

~~~~~~~>

Across the passageway, Skerritt was startled awake by screams. Was she imagining it? Then she heard the muffled but unmistakable high-timbre of Queen Victoria's voice passionately yelling out her Prime Minister's name. She grinned. Skerritt was going to have to find Mr. Francatelli after the Queen's pleasure was over.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She learns that there are even more ways to pleasure a woman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be forewarned that this is rather explicit. Our queen is lusty and it makes Lord M wild.

Melbourne tried to stretch out on his bed but a weight kept him from moving his right arm. She whimpered and he remembered. Smiling, he shifted to his side and watched his beautiful Victoria sleeping in the crook of his arm. Her right leg was comfortably nestled between his thighs and her right hand laid on his chest. He kissed her brow and she smiled. 

Her eyelids popped open and brilliant blue eyes gazed into emerald green ones.

"Good morning, Lord M," she said shyly.

"Good morning, Ma'am", he replied huskily.

She shifted until the full weight of her breasts pressed against him. Predictably, his shaft twitched and Victoria immediately reacted.

"Lord M...it is awake."

"What is awake?" he asked innocently.

"This," she said as she gently grabbed his velvety smoothness.

"No, no...we musn't. You must return to your chambers. Ahhh - " he choked out as she squeezed him.

"Not yet, my lord. Skerritt will fetch me when I need to leave. For the moment I would like to become more familiar with you."

"No... not today, ma'am. I have not finished becoming familiar with you."

"There is more?" she asked in surprise.

"Much more, ma'am," he smiled.

And with that he began to kiss her lips while his hands fluttered over her breasts like gossamer wings. She shuddered as his lips moved lower, her hands cupping his muscular buttocks. She gasped as she felt his shaft lay against her pelvis...its length teasing her.

His mouth closed on the mound of her breast and then the other. She was moaning and he smiled. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind and he lifted off of her. She made a sound of protest but he shushed her and assured her he would be back.

He returned within moments, gratified to see that she had continued his ministrations by playing with her nipples. He noted how they stood up proudly from her breasts. He bent to kiss each one before placing a kiss on her mouth.

Victoria saw that he had brought a basin, a towel and instruments for a shave.

"You are going to shave now, Lord M? I rather like the shadow on your face," she pouted.

"No, ma'am. This is for you. Do you trust me?"

She nodded slowly.

"Good. Open your legs. Wider. Good girl. That's it."

Melbourne proceeded to gently shave away the dark mound of hair on her pubis until there was nothing left except for a small triangle. He reached for her hand when he was done and guided it to feel the silly smooth skin around her folds. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

She told him she wanted to see his handiwork. He obliged her by carrying her to the mirror. Once there, he gently lowered her facing the mirror. She was suddenly shy as she saw her naked body before his. He reached down, spread her legs and ran his hand up her stomach. She saw the small triangle of hair he'd left.

Innocently, she asked why he had shaved her. He explained how it would be easier to pleasure her. And with that he carried her back to the bed. He climbed up and dropped her in the center of the bed. She had no time to express her surprise as he immediately went to work on pleasuring her. He spread her legs apart and blew gently. Already, the folds were glistening. His Victoria was always wet for him. He fingered her, hearing her sigh. Seeing that her eyes were closed, he replaced his fingers with his mouth. As he licked from bottom to top, he looked up and saw her eyes open wide. 

"What are you doing, Lord M?"

He did not answer. Instead, he pulled her nether lips apart, flattened his tongue and laved her...up and down, up and down.

Victoria grabbed the sheets in clenched fists while her hips rose to meet Melbourne's mouth. 

Keening sounds escaped from Victoria as Melbourne used his tongue on her folds and on the hooded nub above..

She was panting and crying out... frustratingly at a loss for words.

Melbourne lifted his head and said, "Say 'fuck me with your mouth, my lord.' Say it!" he commanded.

She said it, not sure of its meaning. He did nothing.

"Say it again! Louder this time!" he ordered.

She obeyed, pleading "Fuck me with your mouth, my lord!" and he obliged.

He lowered his nose to rub her bud and he used his pointed tongue to plunge in and out of her depths. 

He alternated widening his tongue and lapping her with plunging his tongue in and out of her. As her hips bucked wildly against his mouth, he lifted her legs above his shoulders to allow better access.

"You. Taste. So. Good. Victoria" he moaned against her slick folds.

She was panting. "My lord... you are devouring me...you are eating me. Fuck me with your mouth, my lord. Please do it faster. Yes! Ohhhh..."

He growled against her and felt the vibrations from his mouth shoot into her. Another moan.  
With some amusement, Melbourne noted how loud and enthusiastic she had become in vocalizing her need. 

He inserted his 3 middle fingers into her soaking wet center while he swirled his tongue relentlessly on her bud.

The scent of her sex was making Melbourne wild. He wanted, he needed to plunge his cock into her but now was not the time. He concentrated all his efforts on bringing Victoria to climax.

She was close. He knew it. He put his face down between her legs again and this time sucked on her bud while he plunged his fingers in and out, over and over. She responded by squeezing tightly around his digits.

"Look at me, Victoria!" he said to her roughly. As she opened her eyes, he removed his fingers from her entrance and licked her essence from his hand. 

As he did that, she grabbed at her nipples, licked her lips and demanded he eat her again. When he continued to lick his fingers, she gritted her teeth, "FUCK ME WITH YOUR MOUTH! I beg of you!"

He grinned and his lips fell onto her mound, sucking and lapping and then it started. Her climax. She grabbed his head and her heels pushing onto the back of his shoulders, she ground herself into his mouth and came. Screaming. Melbourne! Lord M! William! Fuck me, my lord!

As she continued to spasm, Melbourne ripped his face away from her and knelt up between her legs, grabbing his cock. He only had to pump it twice as he plunged his fingers a final time into Victoria. Together they yelled each other's names as his seed spewed all over her stomach and breasts.

He collapsed on top of her.

"William?" she panted.

"Yes, Victoria?" he said hoarsely, trying to catch his breath.

"I think I might die if there is more than this."

His brows lifted and he laughed raspily. "This is but the beginning, my dear. You have not experienced even half of what we can do to each other."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! Was it good for you?
> 
> I think it is time to begin work on the glass houses...the reason our Lord M is temporarily residing at BP. There will be less playing over the next 2 chapters. But you never know. Victoria has insatiable appetites...


	7. Chapter 7

She felt it almost immediately...The change in him. He had just finished pleasuring her in the most un imaginable way and brought both of them to release. She had screamed and panted like a wild animal for him and she saw how it had made him - he had been commanding and so strong as he ravished her body with his mouth and fingers. 

After, he had kissed her mouth, passionately and then more gently, whispering endearments.

But now...He was different. She turned to him, almost fearfully.

"No. Do not do this, William," she said in a small voice.

His expressive face told her. Guilt, regret, apology. She wanted none of it. 

"Ma'am, I feel as though I may have taken advantage of you," he said quietly.

She looked astonished. "I came to you! In my sleeping gown! Did you not think I knew what might happen? What I hoped would happen?"

"I know...but you must understand that we cannot keep having these amorous meetings without wanting to complete the act."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that if we continue as we did just now, I do not know if I can be strong enough not to take you completely."

At her blank look, he decided to be blunt. "I will not be able to stop myself from being inside you."

She gasped. "But that is what I desire, Lord M! That and more!"

"Victoria, you do not understand. I cannot do that. You must remain intact for the man you marry."

She sniffed. "I thought I had made it clear. I do not want another man. We will either marry or you will be my Leicester."

"We cannot marry."

"You do not love me, Lord M? Still? Even after our intimacy?" she asked wistfully.

"How can you ask that?" he asked harshly. "I cannot just declare love for you. You are the Queen of England!"

She looked at him with frustration. "And the Queen of England is a woman in love! With YOU! It IS simple. You fight almost every day in Parliament for what you want for the kingdom. Yet, for what you want, for us, there is no fight within you."

She removed herself from Melbourne's bed. Victoria stood, naked and completely exposed to him.

"I love you, Lord M. And I, for one, AM willing to FIGHT for you. I am warning you that I will fight for us using every weapon at my disposal."

There was fire in her eyes and he felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

Standing there, every inch a queen in naked splendor, she warned him. "I am declaring war on you, my Lord. You will be begging for me."


	8. Chapter 8

"William, where are you?" Emma called out. 

"Come further in...I'm towards the back," Melbourne returned. 

"No, thank you, Melbourne. Kindly make your way  _towards_ me," his friend requested.  

When he came into sight, she let out a gasp of surprise.   "You look like a farmer, William!"  His hair was tousled and matted, his shirt and pants stained and his boots caked in mud.  


Melbourne laughed, the fine lines around his eyes creasing attractively.  "Do I?  I  suppose I must.  It's quite warm today and I have been moving tables and pots and gardening tools in anticipation of the crew to begin renovation."

He dusted his hands together.  "Sir Paxton is meeting with Her Majesty now to finalize  the design."

Emma was clearly impressed.   "I see you've brought in one of the best, William."

Melbourne nodded in agreement, pleased with himself for convincing one of Great Britain's most talented garden.  "He is building a conservatory for Chatsworth as we speak.  We are fortunate that the Queen summoned him when she did.  He is awaiting the delivery of large glass plates so there is a respite from labor. I dare say that this will be a painstakingly long process given that they begun construction at Chatsworth."

Emma gave him a wry look.  "Surely you are not discounting the Queen's ability to get what she wants?"

Emma saw her friend frown.  "Trouble, William?"

"She is the ruler of the most powerful country on earth and yet, she acts with the sensibilities of a young girl!"

Emma exclaimed, "She is 18 years old!  What do you expect?"  She saw the tell-tale twitch working at the corner of his mouth.

"Ahhh", she said knowingly.    _"You_ are the reason for her over-exaggerated flirtations every evening these last two weeks.

"I hadn't noticed," he lied.

Emma snorted inelegantly.  "Hmph.  Then you must be blind.  She has practically been throwing herself at England's  most eligible men."

Melbourne clenched his teeth.  "Do not speak of Her Majesty in such a way.   I won't tolerate it, not even from you."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I suggest that you and little Vicky resolve your issues before she gains a reputation. There is gossip that since her cousin Albert left, the Queen has decided not to marry and will instead take companions."

"Companions, what?" he spat out. 

" You know...of the male persuasion," Emma began. "I believe that as she matures, the Queen will have very lust-".

"Enough!" 

Emma raised a brow. "She is a passionate woman for all her girlish tendencies. But I believe that is part of her charm, don't you?"

William grunted and dismissed Emma by way of telling her he was busy and must get back to work.

~~~~~~~~>

Victoria clapped her hands together in delight. "Lord Paxton, these designs are beautiful! When will you be able to begin?"

He gave her a date two months away. Normally, Victoria would have balked at the delay but instead gave her agreement.

"Splendid, your Majesty!" Lord Paxton stood up. "My glassmaker and iron worker will be here tomorrow to take measurements."

"I look forward to it, Sir Paxton," Victoria said with barely concealed excitement.

Hours later, after a tense dinner at which Melbourne neither smiled nor spoke except in atypical hand gestures and monosyllabic words, Victoria found herself outside the entrance to Melbourne's room.

She found Melbourne looking into the same mirror where she'd watched him arouse himself. She sighed in disappointment. He was fully clothed albeit more casually with bare feet, worn but clean breeches and an untucked shirt.

He saw her in the mirror and tensed.

" Lord M, I wish to speak with you," she started.

"Cannot it wait until morning, Ma'am?"


	9. Chapter 9

"If it could wait until morning, I would not be here. So obviously, since I am here, the answer is it cannot wait."

Melbourne, despite his frustration with the Queen, tilted his head while his lips twitched with amusement. "Then, Ma'am, I suppose I must accommodate you. Please..sit!"

"I prefer to stand," she announced.

Uncharacteristically, her hands were behind her back. He realized she held something in her hands but he could not see what as she kept shifting around. He waited.

"You are familiar with the gardens at Chatsworth, my Lord," she said.

He almost sighed with relief. She wanted to discuss the glasshouses - not their personal circumstances.

"Yes, Ma'am. I'm sure you know that Sir Paxton is the architect of those gardens." 

"And you are familiar with the different species of plants and what not there?"

Melbourne nodded wondering what the Queen might want cultivated in addition to the jasmine sambac. He walked away to his desk to rummage for a pen amd notebook to jot notes in. When he turned back, Victoria was reclining on the settee: leaning back, her long hair flung out behind her and the hem of her sleeping gown hitched between her knees.

Melbourne blinked and his head bobbed involuntarily.

He should have known better. The queen had declared war on him, after all.

From between her knees, she produced a banana.

"Do you know what this is, my Lord M?" she asked sweetly.

"A tropical fruit called the banana," he answered easily.

"Precisely. This is a Cavendish banana that Sir Paxton has been cultivating for Cavendish," she said as she began to peel the fruit.

Melbourne opened his notebook and wrote: Cavendish Banana.   

Melbourne looked up to find her touching the tip of her tongue to the top of the banana she was peeling.

Melbourne dropped the notebook.

Victoria continued peeling the fruit until it was bare except at the base. She looked at him from under her lashes. "I had a taste this afternoon but I should like to have more, Lord M."

She put the tip of the banana to her open mouth and slowly inserted the firm fruit between her lips.

"Ma'am, please," Melbourne gasped out.

"Please what?" she asked. He cleared his throat.

When he did not answer, she took the next portion of the banana into her mouth.  A rather long portion.  Melbourne's mouth fell open.  He saw her throat contracting easily around the banana.  

Melbourne broke out into a sweat and his cock rose.  She'd taken it almost whole.

Victoria then stood and approached Melbourne. She kneeled before him, her face close to his cock which twitched violently as she rose slowly with his dropped notebook in her hand.  Very deliberately, she let her left breast graze his hard member. He groaned.  She smiled.

Handing him the notebook, she turned away.

She hesitated, standing at the entrance to his dressing closet and looked over her shoulder at him. 

She noted his labored breathing, his clenched hands and his glorious member straining against his breeches.

She smiled looking directly into his eyes and then down to his cock.  "I should like to take this firm fruit in my bed every morning before I rise.  I believe it would be beneficial to my daily constitution, don't you agree, Lord M?"

Again, he was at a loss for words his need was so great.  

"I think you and I could call it the Queen's Melbourne Delight", Victoria said demurely.

She took the rest of the banana into her mouth and flung the peel at his feet before disappearing into the closet.

At the entrance to her clothing room, Skerrit saw the Queen's hugely satisfied smile.  "You will make a great general in my battle with Lord M.  Come...let us strategize some more."

~~~~~~~~>

The following morning, Melbourne arrived to the Queen's study appearing bleary-eyed.

"Lord M, you do not appear to have rested well last night.  Please come sit."

"No, Ma'am, I did not," he said curtly.  He was slightly mollified when a maid appeared carrying a tray with hot coffee.

"I suspected you might not and had heard you also did not eat this morning.'

"There are no bananas, I hope," he said grumpily.

"None.  I took all of them inside me," she said suggestively.

The visual was too much for Melbourne.  Coffee sloshed over his coffee cup.

"Ma'am!  Please you must stop these provocations!"

Victoria was amused but knew enough not to push her Prime Minister any further. 

They worked all morning and then broke for lunch.  

"Is there much more to do, Lord M?  You have pushed a heavy pace today," she said wearily.

"I believe we are done for the day.  Would you like to ride with me out to the Flower house site?  There is something I'd like to show you."

Victoria immediately agreed and went to her bedchamber to change.

The Queen's war would continue.


	10. The Dismount, Revisited - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short and sweet.

As they reached the area where the palace glass houses were located, Victoria gasped. There was not much except for framework half destroyed and a small shed beyond it.

"Lord M!" she exclaimed. "Where are my glass houses?"

"Demolished. Lord Paxton will be building from the ground up. This framework will be gone tomorrow."

They continued their discussion of the glasshouses, seemingly without the tension of the last several days. The Prime Minister felt at ease as he spoke to his sovereign about a topic dear to him and he was grateful to be able to lower his guard.

But then, Melbourne moved and performed The Dismount. Victoria reacted as she usually did - her knees went weak and a blush rose to her cheeks. His effortless way of arcing his booted leg over his horse's head made her feel like a filly racing towards a stallion. Victoria felt her pulse quicken for he was now approaching her with his purposeful stride. Melbourne reached up to help her down from her mare and she awkwardly fell gainst him. Normally, she would have apologized and moved away but these were not normal times. Instead, she reached up and whispered in his ear.

He looked at her eyes and thought how foolish of him to have thought that the Queen might have given up her personal war to -

"Excuse me, Ma'am," he said in disbelief. "I think you misspoke."

"Misspoke?" she said with a tilt of her head. "Most certainly not. If you heard me say I would like to sit astride you again, then you heard correctly.

He looked about them, clearly concerned that someone might have heard her. He coughed. "Ma'am, I've told you now several times, that we cannot continue with our assignations. It is dangerous for you to keep arriving in my room."

She turned away and started walking towards what was left of the glass house. Victoria went through the back which no longer contained glass panels and stood next to the shed.

She held out her hand.

Melbourne refused to take that small delicate hand. Victoria sighed. He was going to be difficult. So be it.

She took off her bonnet and threw it at him. He easily caught it one-handed.

She opened the door of the shed and walked in. She was relieved to find the items Skerrit said would be there: an armless chair draped with an ermine cloak, several plush blankets laid in a heap on the floor.

She took a deep breath praying her Lord M would follow and not allow anyone else entrance.

~~~~~~~~>

Melbourne stood a few feet away from the door to the shed, glaring at the door, and willing the Queen to come out.

A few minutes passed and he heard rustling from inside. A few more minutes past and he heard gasps. Victoria. Making sounds of desire. He gritted his teeth together. She was mind bent on breaking him down and as she let out a groan he thought that she was succeeding.

He gnashed his teeth and whispered loudly, "Ma'am, you must come out!"

Nothig...but her panting and moans. He pictured her touching herself on her breasts and squeezing her own nipples. His cock twitched.

"I will come My Lord, but I need you," she gasped. "WILLIAM, please help me!"

He could no longer stay out. Her entreaty aroused him. He opened the door.

He gulped thinking he'd never seen anything so beautiful as Victoria laying on a bed of blankets on the floor. Her knees were bent, her back propped against more blankets and her sex glistening in the candleglow.

His mouth went dry as she opened her eyes and looked at him. He growled when she licked her fingers and tugged at both nipples, rolling them between her fingers.

"Do you see what you have done to me, Lord M?," she asked breathlessly. "You must finish me...with your mouth. Then..." she gasped and her hips came off the ground as she writhed with abandon.

"I want to taste that long, thick and hard part of you. Will you teach me, Lord M?"

His mouth went dry. He would do anything for his Queen.


	11. The Loyalty of Emma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melbourne decides he cannot fulfill the Queen's wishes and gets a much-deserved dressing down from Emma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I last updated this in early August 2017 writing about half 1/2 of this chapter. I wasn't sure where to go after the fiasco in the garden/tool shed but after reading several articles and short stories about Emma, I thought she might finally be the one to talk sense to her.

He would doing anything for his Queen.

But not this. And not in a garden tool shed. He had too much respect for the Queen. He half laughed to himself. Respect? Had he shown her the respect befitting his sovereign by taking her breasts into his mouth? Or pleasuring her with his mouth and fingers?

He had taken dangerously beautiful liberties with the Queen of England and if they were ever discovered, her crown would be in jeopardy.

She watched him, breathing deeply, seeing the play of emotions flit across his devastatingly handsome face. He would not take her today. Perhaps not any day. She had over-played her hand.

She held back stinging tears, scrambling to clothe herself. Kneeling on the floor, she realized she could not dress herself. She was humiliated. And she had done it to herself. He had warned her. And she had not listened believing that she could make him bow to her desires and, to her love.

He watched her, his heart hurting for her as he saw her struggling to dress with the complicated ties and stays. He approached and knelt behind her.

"Do not touch me!" she cried.

"You need help," he said quietly.

"I do not need your help," she spat out.

His mouth quirked into an almost smile. He could not let her think he was amused. Far from it. Melbourne was strangely moved and frightened by her determination. Had he done this to her? Emboldened her to commit such brazen acts of seduction? He sighed. "Your Majesty, there is no one else to assist you. You cannot go back to the palace in complete disarray. Allow me to help you. Please."

She relented knowing he was right. She couldn't return to the palace half undressed.

So she allowed herself to be dressed by Melbourne, her sometimes, reluctant lover. His hands touched her bare flesh. There was no help for it as he smoothed her corset over her petite, lush body. He so badly wanted to kiss the curve of her shoulders. The pale creamy skin begged to be lapped over by his lips. He pulled her hair together with one hand and raised the mass over her head while reaching down to help her raise her dress over her body.

Her body was trembling with the nearness of him, the heat of his hands and breath skimming over her. She drew a shaky breath.

He breathed heavily, smelling the faint scent of orange blossoms. He wanted to taste her again with his mouth. His hands had finished its work of dressing her but his slender fingers remained in a possessive clasp at her waist.

She turned. Tentatively.

She held one of his hands to her waist while his other rose to her head.

Victoria's eyes shone with bright tears threatening to fall.

He lowered his head and whispered into her ear.

"We must go."

It was if he had thrown a bucket of cold water onto her heated body and as well as a challenge at her face.

Her eyes turned to slits as she assessed him. Before he realized what she was doing, she passed her hand over the front of his breeches. She held it there as his hand closed over her wrist. Hard. Warm. Wanting. She stroked him. Then squeezed gently but firmly. Victoria's gaze caught Melbourne's eyes rolling back in his head as she heard his breathing turn erratic.

She was satisfied. Her Lord M desired her still. She counted this as a minor victory. She must be strategic. Wellingtonesque. Retreat. Reassess. Advance.

She opened the shed door.

"Blow out the candles, Lord M," she said cheerfully. "Then help me mount."

Lord M suppressed a groan as he willed his member to return to a non-aroused state. Shaking his head to clear the haze of his arousal, he bent to blow out the candles and then, with a deep breath, left the shed to help Victoria mount her mare.

"Come along, Melbourne. We must return before they come looking for us."

She was almost back to her self when they arrived to the courtyard of the Palace. Lord Melbourne performed The Dismount which Victoria pretended not to watch. The Dismount always did curious things to her insides but today, when Melbourne avoided helping her to dismount, she felt somewhat triumphant. He was not immune to her as he pretended. He looked at her with a mix of suspicion and curiousity. Her half-smile disarmed him. Indeed, Victoria was not going to give up. He needed to fortify himself. But how?

~~~~~~~~

The Queen was full of gaiety at dinner as she smiled and held enthralled conversation with a delighted Wellington who was more than happy to recount his wartime victories. Victoria's keen mind memorized everything Wellington said and she looked forward to utilizing his strategies for her own assault on her reluctant Lord M.

"You continue to watch her, William. You're too obvious," Emma admonished him. "Come. A breath of fresh air might help you to think more clearly.

"What would you have me do?" Melbourne asked in annoyance as he walked out to a terrace with his friend.

"She will not stay away from me. She schemes and she flirts and she - ".

Emma interrupted him. "And you have no self-control when it comes to our Little Vicky."

"She bewitches me," he muttered.

"Careful...queens have lost their heads for less," she said tongue-in-cheek.

"I'd be worried if we lived in the time of Henry Plantagenet but as we don't, it's her reputation that I must consider. And her crown. How could I be so stupid!"

"William! What have you done?" Emma asked in concern. She wanted to know but really, she DIDN'T want to know.

"Nothing. Not really," he said almost lamely.

"What do you mean 'not really'"? You either have or you haven't! Oh, no," she groaned. "You have given her a taste of carnal pleasures without taking her virginity, haven't you?"

Melbourne looked around them for eavesdroppers, as he signaled for Emma to lower her rising voice. He did not answer but the telltale signs of his reddened cheeks told Emma all she needed to know.

"Are you quite mad, William? You are jeopardizing the Monarchy! What if you get her with child?" Emma was practically screeching her panic.

"It won't come to that, I assure you."

"I am NOT assured! I would never have thought to see you move into the palace under the pretense of building new glass houses for Her Majesty, William. Yet, here you are, admitting to taking liberties with the Queen! To borrow a phrase from the Duchess of Kent, 'have you completely lost your mind?!?' Have you so easily forgotten the scandal with Caroline Norton? While I do believe your relationship was platatonic in nature and you recovered quite nicely, Caroline is forever ruined. The Queen would lose everything, William!"

"I concede that, Emma! I thought to be a good and loyal friend to Caroline but her husband is a barbaric man. Should I have left her to fend for herself? Look at how he has continued to keep Caroline away from her own dear children!"

Emma sighed. She could not argue him on any of these points. But the fact remained that he was playing with fire by allowing himself too many liberties with Victoria. She knew the queen loved Melbourne and would stop at nothing to marry him but getting with child without the benefit of marriage would cause the monarchy to collapse.

There was a cough from the terrace doors. Melbourne looked over, wide-eyed and afraid they'd been overheard.

It was a footman with a message from Victoria that Emma's presence was required. 

She looked at him accusingly and with great irritation. She knew the Queen would be wanting to ask after Melbourne and in her not so subtle ways would be trying to enlist Emma in her plans.

"I'm being summoned," Emma said, "and I can guarantee that the conversation will be centered around you!"

"Emma, you must discourage whatever schemes the queen has to seduce me!"

"You have lost your mind! Are you saying that it is not you? You are not the aggressor?" she asked in dismay.

"No, I am truly not the aggressor. She listened to Wellington all night. She means to have her way with me," he said without .

Emma shook her head as she walked away from Melbourne. She was going to have to start praying again. She did not want to aid the young queen in this endeavor. And yet, she had seen the love between them. Had they been just been ordinary people, they would have easily just been two people very much in love.

"William," Emma said with great gravity. "You must protect Victoria. You must make her understand what is at sake."

"Don't you think I have tried?" Melbourne said in frustration. 

"You love her?" Emma asked simply.

Melbourne's silence spoke volumes.

"Then use your knowledge to find a way so that you can love each other legitimately."

"It is not that simple!" he gritted through his teeth.

"No, it is not. But as I've already pointed out to you, our Queen defied the Privy Council, her wretched mother and Conroy, and sent Albert and her Uncle Leopold away - all because of her love for you," Emma stabbed a finger at his chest and took a step forward, backing him into the terrace wall.

"She was charming the breeches off Wellington at dinner to win him over so that she might have him in her corner," she said agitatedly.

"For God's sake, William! Stand up and do something besides letting women suffer for loving and wanting you!"

Melbourne stared at her, his most loyal of friends. How had he been so blind? He was shocked not only by her words but by the sight of Emma overwrought with emotion and pain. 

He saw her trembling hands and saw a glimpse of the raw pain in her eyes. But she recovered quickly and what he momentarily saw in her eyes quickly faded. In this moment, her pain was for the hearts of the young Queen whom she'd grown to love and the handsome but aging politician whose confidence was shaken by that same queen, a formidable 19 year old girl.

Melbourne hung his head. Emma was right. "I'm an old man, Emma," he said, sounding defeated. "The Queen deserves someone young and vibrant."

"Who the queen chooses to love is not your decision. What IS your decision is how you are going to play this out and if you're finally going to allow yourself to be loved the way you deserve."

Emma walked back into the palace, leaving Melbourne with much to ponder.


End file.
